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Tuesday, December 2, 2014

Antioxidant-rich spices and herbs could help to improve triglyceride
concentrations and other blood lipids, according to new research.

Published in Nutrition Today,
the paper analyses the metabolic effects of herbs and spice blends --
focusing in particular on the potential cardiovascular benefits of the
ingredients that are traditionally used to add flavour to foods --
before testing whether meals prepared with a spice blend offer
functional benefits.

Led by Professor Sheila West from Penn State, they
noted that triglyceride levels rise after eating a high-fat meal --
which can lead to an increased risk of heart disease. If a
high-antioxidant spice blend is incorporated into the meal, triglyceride
levels may be reduced by as much as 30 percent when compared to eating
an identical meal without the spice blend. The spiced meal included:

"The metabolic effects of spices and herbs and
their efficacy and safety relative to traditional drug therapy represent
an exciting area for future research given the public health
significance of cardiovascular disease," wrote the team.

"We live in a world where people consume too many
calories every day," said West. "Adding high-antioxidant spices might
be a way to reduce calories without sacrificing taste."

West and her colleagues are now working on a
further study that will monitor study participants for eight hours after
eating a meal with a high-antioxidant spice blend in order to test what
happens to the fat in such a meal.

"If (the fat) isn't being absorbed when spices
are included in the meal, it might be excreted instead," she suggested.
"We will examine whether spices affect how rapidly the meal is processed
through the stomach and intestines."

Study Details

In the study West and her colleagues conducted
their initial study after reviewing the literature for evidence of
spices and herbs benefits on heart health. The review suggested that
cinnamon may have benefit for lowering cholesterol in people with
diabetes, while garlic was also suggested to have benefits for
cholesterol and heart disease risk.

As part of their study, the team prepared meals
for six men between the ages of 30 and 65 who were overweight, but
otherwise healthy, on two separate days.

The meals were identical - consisting of chicken,
bread and a dessert biscuit - except that the researchers added two
tablespoons of a high-antioxidant culinary spice blend to the test meal.

The spiced meal included garlic powder, rosemary,
oregano, cinnamon, cloves, paprika, turmeric, ginger and black pepper.
West and colleagues then followed the participants for three hours after
each meal, drawing blood every 30 minutes.

Antioxidant activity in the blood increased by
13% after the men ate the test meal when compared to the control meal,
which may help prevent cardiovascular disease and other chronic
diseases, they suggested.

The addition of spices and herbs to the test meal
also significantly decreased postprandial insulin responses by 21% and
triglycerides by 31% as shown in the

Total blood cholesterol, HDL cholesterol, and glucose levels were not affected, they added.

"These findings suggest that a blend of spices
and herbs may help improve levels of postprandial insulin and
triglyceride concentrations after a high-fat meal while also enhancing
the antioxidative capacity of blood," wrote West and her colleagues.

Mae Chan
holds degrees in both physiology and nutritional sciences. She is also
blogger and and technology enthusiast with a passion for disseminating
information about health.

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